21st Century Archmage

Chapter 95: Friendly Little Bastards

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CRASH! CRASH!

RUUUUUMBLE.

The roaring explosions reached my ears all the way in the sky, telling me that we had finally reached the battle. After flying for several hours from Denfors, just as I could feel the strength draining from Bebeto’s wings, we reached Fort Ciaris.

‘Th-These bastards!!!!’

And then, I saw it—under the bright stars and shining moon, a massive, bloody battle betwixt man and monster was raging on.

GUOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!

As if feeling the same rage as I did, Bebeto roared to shake the heavens.

The sturdily rebuilt fortress walls were collapsed, and the soldiers were putting up a desperate resistance at one side.

KWAAAAAA!

KUGEEEH!

At Bebeto’s cry, the monsters looked into the sky, screaming.

“Have a taste of this, you bastards!!!!”

My eyes were bloodshot.

“FIRE LANE!!!!!”

I needed to draw the attention of the monsters. For that, I needed the flashiest and most widespread spell, so I turned to the strongest AOE in my arsenal, Fire Lane.

PIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING!

The mana jumping out of my mana core merged with the atmospheric mana, making a sharp sound.

However, that too, was fleeting.

PZZZZZZZZZZTTTTTTTT.

Like an exploding firework, red shrapnel began to spread in the sky. After forming hundreds of meters aboveground, the sparking shrapnel whistled down to the ground like shooting stars.

BOOM! BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOOOOM!

The powerful explosion rang in my ears.

FWOOOOOOOOOOOOOSH!

An explosion of flames spread on the ground in an instant.

KWAAAAAAWK!

KRAAAAGH!

KYAAAAAAAAK!

The Fire Lane spell that released in my rage had mana quantity nearing the 7th Circle, so after merging with the mana in the air, its power exceeded all imagination. Moreover, it was cast high in the sky, so the range was several hundred meters. The flames shot down on them like a bolt from the blue, and the monsters were set ablaze as they squalled death throes.

CRAAAAASH!

FWOOOOOSH.

BOOOM!

The spells the beastmen fired after me exploded everywhere like a carpet bombing.

“T-THE LORD IS HERE!!!!”

“WAAAAAAAA! THE LORD IS HERE! THE LORD!!!!!”

The soldiers cheered after seeing me.

Guoooooooooooo!

Flying low above the heads of the soldiers, Bebeto gave a long roar in my place as if to say, “Your lord is here!”

* * *

“Damn it!”

“Unforgivable bastards!”

“Everyone, set off! The Lord and our colleagues are in danger!”

Janice and Ryker’s flight teams were running patrols when they heard urgent bell tolling from a fort located on the trade passage. They landed, and after hearing an explanation of the crisis from the fort’s commanding officer, their faces turned white and they jumped onto their wyverns. They wouldn’t be worried if they were just regular monsters, but they were filled with worry after hearing that even the demon beasts that had been laying low had appeared. Their lord might be powerful, but hundreds of demon beasts would be very difficult to deal with.

Flap flap flap flap flap.

Without any chance to catch their breath, ten or so wyverns went aloft again.

It wasn’t just them.

Skyknights in the middle of patrols everywhere changed course after hearing the news, flying towards Fort Ciaris, where their lord was facing great danger.

* * *

‘They’re clever.’

After firing a few volleys of spells, most of the monsters clustered around the fort retreated. The beastmen had mana that humans couldn’t compare to, so thousands of the swarming monsters were killed with a few hits of 5th Circle magic, and having recovered their morale, the soldiers were able to push the monsters off the castle walls.

However, the demon beasts hadn’t yet revealed themselves. They were hiding in the dark, but I could feel them—powerful creatures directing bloodthirst at me.

‘Anymore magic is meaningless.’

Even for me, casting 6th Circle magic five times was rough. I had depleted about half of the mana in my mana core, so I couldn’t fire spells off like crazy anymore. Wasting mana when the demon beasts, basically the bosses of the monsters, hadn’t shown up yet would only endanger me and my soldiers.

‘Huhu, I’ll gladly become the bait.’

If the monsters retreated like this, that too, would be problematic. In the deep, deep Rual Mountains, monsters were overflowing. If the demon beasts rallied another group of monsters and came attacking, in a war of attrition, I would be forced to suffer a defeat.

So there was only one solution—strike hard and fast to prevent the enemies from recovering in a short amount of time.

“Bebeto, descend.”

As if even the sky was not on my side, clouds had appeared from nowhere and concealed the moon and stars. Luckily, the weeds below were still on fire from the fire spells, so even though it was dim, I could see well enough.

Swoooosh.

Clearly understanding his master’s intent, Bebeto swerved and plummeted.

I unclasped the safety ring with a click, and when we were about 10 meters aboveground, I jumped off.

Gaaaaawr.

Grr grr.

They briefly retreated because of the spell volley, but the monsters still numbered in the thousands. The foul odor of the monsters closing in on me pierced through my nose, and at the same time, I could hear the roaring of the monsters and feel their bloodthirst.

Light thumps sounded behind me.

‘They’re really loyal, alright.’

In the thick of battle, the beastmen did not value their lives over mine. They had all jumped down and taken up positions near me.

“Master, I smell something dangerous.”

Hasifor’s nose twitched as he worked through the scents like a dog. The bloodthirst from the demon beasts was so strong that it put a combat race like the beastmen on guard.

“Hasifor, do you like to hunt?”

“Of course. Hunting is the way of life for us beastmen.”

“Then do you wanna have a bet today?”

“….?”

Five pairs of eyes stared at me.

“If you are able to catch more demon beasts than me, I will give you a 6th Circle formula that only I know. One formula per beast that exceeds my count.”

“Truly, Master?”

“If I’m lying, you can be the master from tomorrow onwards.”

“Kyaarrrr!”

After I assured him it wasn’t a lie, Hasifor let out a happy roar.

“Kraorrr!”

“Krrrnng!”

The other four beastmen made cat noises, too.

“I believe you, Master.”

“Then shall we start? Beginning…now!”

Schwing.

My gleaming blade hissed as I drew it from its sheath.

“Kraaaaaaawr!”

The beastmen threw down their expensive airplates and mage robes, transforming before my eyes without reserve.

‘Mommy!’

The most embarrassing sight was the transformation of the two female beastmen, Karkiki and Farfon. As they transformed into the battle mode of the beastmen, their melon-sized breasts were completely exposed for a moment before getting covered in fur and muscle.

“Haha, then please excuse me.”

Whumpf!

“Master, unfair!”

I simply kept running.

‘You bastards, you dare to covet my land? You’re all dead tonight!’

The soldiers had spilled a great deal of blood red atop the castle walls. I had provided a considerable amount of holy water, so they could be saved as long as they had breath, but they had probably taken a lot of damage.

SQUEAAL!

Swish.

A group of orcs blocked my path, but I easily sliced them apart and continued running like a gust of wind.

The blazing bloodthirst I could feel ahead was calling me.

* * *

“Mm…”

‘Fuckin’ bastards!’

These guys were on a different level from the demon beast I faced before. The monsters were organized in a way that mimicked a human army—monsters charged at me in a systematic fashion. Ogres threw stones, while trolls flailed the corpses of orcs or weapons. On top of that, an endless stream of orcs with bloodshot eyes came at me.

I cut them down.

I swung my sword over and over, searching for the demon beasts luring me with their bloodthirst. But the moment I was about to reach them, the demon beasts adroitly hid themselves amongst the monsters.

The bastards made me “It” as if we were playing Hide and Seek.

‘So this was the reason why the Bajran Empire was defeated.’

If demon beasts this extraordinarily intelligent had courage on top of that, human soldiers would be exhausted to death. The reproductive rate of monsters and humans could not be compared to start with. That’s why even after countless massacres, they were able to survive everywhere on the continent.

Craaash.

SQEAAAAAL!

“Kioooooooooo!”

“Kyaarrrrrrrrr!”

All around me rang the battle cries of the beastmen, which could be clearly differentiated from the monsters. After chasing the demon beasts for a while, I found myself quite a distance from the fort.

GUOOOOO!

However, Bebeto pinpointed my location and prowled above my head, intimidating the monsters. Or rather, he occasionally dove down to pick up an ogre or two and play bowling.

‘Brat, you’re in your own world.’

I was jealous of Bebeto’s ability to fly freely for the first time in a while.

Squeaaal!

Swoooosh.

Another pile of orcs, the most brute-force low-level monsters there were, came running at me. And far in the distance, I could feel the invitation of the demon beasts luring me over.

Before I knew it, I was at the entrance of the Rual Mountains.

‘You wanna fight in the most advantageous place for you, huh? Huhu, alright, I’ll play along.’

Whumpf!

Splaaaat.

Thump thump thump.

Taking in a deep breath, I swung my fully Aura’d blade at the orcs blocking the way. They were torn asunder by mana, not strength, so the feeling in my hand was like cutting through paper.

I launched myself forward.

The more I let myself be lured, the more time the soldiers remaining at Ciaris had to regroup.

“E-Esteemed Father…”

“Sob sob, Esteemed Father…”

Inside the Bajran Empire’s Imperial Palace.

Night had fallen deeply on the Palace of Honor in the middle of the castle grounds. There, Princess Igis and the young Prince Razcion had been called by the Emperor and were having an audience with him. Emperor Havitron’s illness had worsened, so he had stepped away from national affairs and was confined to his bedroom.

“Don’t cry. Your father is alright…”

Because of his golden hair, Emperor Havitron of the Great Bajran Empire was called the Golden Lion in his youth, but he was now emaciated like a dried stick. Even so, the Emperor’s mind was as clear as ever as he called the two children he loved.

If he had known these two would be born, he wouldn’t have welcomed Elmiane as his queen. The emperor had the authority to take dozens of concubines, but the Emperor sincerely loved Empress Nermis. But for the longest time, she was unable to bear an heir who could continue the imperial line, so at the command of his mother, who had still been alive at the time, along with the counsel of the nobles, he took a queen.

‘My poor little ones.’

He was down on his health, but the Emperor knew most of what was going on in the Imperial Family and the empire. Havitron knew all too well that being born as imperial royalty was both a blessing and a curse. Succeeding the imperial throne was a peerless blessing, but anyone left as an imperial prince or perceived as a threat to the throne could be killed without noise or fanfare—that was the kind of fate the children of the Imperial House had to face.

Moreover, his four children were from different mothers. To him, they were all precious and couldn’t be cast away, but the Emperor loved the children from the Empress more.

“I wanted to see you,” sniffled Razcion, the youngest. He was still just a child. He rubbed his father’s hand on his cheeks a little.

He could not carelessly call his father “Father,” but in the Prince’s heart, Havitron was always his warm, loving dad. Getting to feel his father’s hand for the first time in a while made Razcion smile happily.

“Igis.”

“Yes, Esteemed Father,” Igis responded quietly. She had been silently watching her brother’s childish actions.

“The harvest must be at its peak around now.”

“I went on a wyvern yesterday and took a look. The fields are awash in golden yellow.”

“That must have been nice.”

The Emperor gazed at his daughter with the tender eyes of a father.

“How is your health? I heard from the court physician that you have recovered much of your vitality these days,” lied Igis.

Everyone living in the Imperial Palace knew that the time the Emperor could open his eyes and talk was steadily dwindling.

“Haha, are you so worried about your father?”

Touched by the worry of his lovable daughter, Havitron had his first laugh in a while. His energy had declined and even laughing was difficult, but for some reason, his vitality had improved a lot today.

“May you quickly recover your health. This I pray, day after day.”

Each and every word of Igis’ was lovable and well-mannered. The Emperor gazed at her warmly.

“Esteemed Father, please get up soon. When spring comes, let us go hunting on wyverns. Razcion is all grown up now too.”

Holding his father’s hand, Razcion abruptly raised his head and begged to go hunting together.

“Alright, I shall go hunting with Razcion.”

“Really? You promised!”

The Emperor stroked Razcion’s head as he rejoiced. Then, his expression became more serious. “I called you both today to make a request.”

He might be confined to his sickbed, but with the absolute loyalty of the Imperial Knights, the Emperor had nothing to fear. The emperor was the person who could immediately control the life-and-death of any noble with a single command.

The two children looked at their father, straightening. The Emperor gazed into each of the pairs of eyes shining like starlight towards him. As if preparing to deliver his final will, each and every one of his actions was filled with affection.

“You must listen well to the words I am about to say.”

“Yes…”

“Please continue.”

“If a time comes when Father is unable to take care of you two… You must leave Bajran.”

“…..”

Igis and Razion were rendered speechless. Neither of them had ever once imagined a world without their father, so they were unable to find the words to say.

“If Poltviran becomes the emperor, something bad might happen. Before that happens, you two must find somewhere to go.”

“Esteemed Father, uwaaah! Don’t say such things. Razcion likes the Imperial Palace where Esteemed Father and Mother are.”

As young as he was, Razcion wept large tears.

“Igis, go to that person.”

“Sob…”

Her father’s words felt like a will, rendering Igis unable to endure her tears any longer.

“I only met him once, but the fellow named Kyre looked quite decent. Seeing as how Count Yaix praised him to high heaven, he should easily be able to take you both in.”

“C-Count Kyre?”

Even as she wept, Igis was startled at the mention of Kyre.

“That’s right. Thankfully, you are both well-acquainted with him.”

“Kyre hyung is a good person… Hic, hic,” Razcion blubbered, praising Kyre even through his tears.

“I made requests to a few of the knights. All you have to do is leave as soon as they come for you.”

‘I’m sorry, my dear children…’

Emperor Havitron knew all too well that he would have to leave his children behind. He wept tears of blood in his heart.

He was fully aware that Crown Prince Poltviran had a violent temperament. But if he entrusted the Bajran Empire to the all-too-young Razcion, a civil war might erupt. The Emperor could already clearly feel that Duke Ormere and the nobles who supported Poltviran was a considerable force.

Therefore, the Emperor had to make a decision. He could not leave his two young children to Poltviran, who took after Queen Elmiane and had a cold heart. He might be in denial, but as a father, not as an emperor, he could not give up on any of his children.

“I-I understand. However… This humble one does not doubt that Esteemed Father will recover. May you quickly recover your health.”

Igis was born with the sagacious nobility of a princess. She knew exactly what her father was trying to say.

Though he wanted to, he could not ask the Empress to leave as well. No matter how wild the Crown Prince might be, Havitron did not think Poltviran could kill the Empress. In the history of the Bajran Imperial Family, there was no one heinous enough to kill the dowager empress.

“Cough, cough.”

“Esteemed Father!”

“Uwaah! Daddy, daddyyyyy!”

While saying thank you, the tender smile on the Emperor’s face froze and he began to cough roughly, vomiting a lump of black blood. In his panic, Razcion forgot the honorifics.

“Isn’t there anyone outside! Come quickly and call the priest and court physician! Quickly!” yelled Igis towards the door.

Noisy running came from outside.

‘Dad…’ Igis thought, holding back the word she so dearly wanted to say.

Tears dripped from her eyes without end. Igis knew that there weren’t many days left when she could see her father up close like this.

Igis von Bajran was hopeful.

But she was no fool.

* * *

Bam!

Spuuuuuuurt!

My sword swept past a troll’s sturdy neck, blue blood fountaining out in the darkness in its wake.

THUUD!

And so, the last remaining troll fell over. The bodies of over twenty trolls and ogres were littered around me.

‘These unfair-as-fuck jerks!’

I found myself in some clearing within the Rual Mountains. I knowingly let myself be drawn by the demon beasts, following them deep into the mountains.

Inside the mountains, a bloody battle lasting quite some time ensued. On the way to this clearing, I must have sent no less than a thousand monsters to hell.

‘I’m almost out of mana. Che.’

Even though I limited my magic use, maintaining Aura Blade consumed mana. I had a ridiculous mana core compared to other humans, but… I was no dragon, I had my limits.

Ziiiiiing.

‘Alright, you guys are the protagonists, you say? Laughable fuckers.’

I could feel the intelligent demon beasts swiftly filling up the gaps left by the monsters. The clear was thick with the smell of spilled blue monster blood. Yellow and red eyes blinked from the trees, staring at me.

“Huuu…”

I filled my lungs with a deep breath, preparing for the match to come. Tension rippled through my body, my hairs standing up on end.

Was this how it felt to wait a whole night and finally catch a big fish? One by one, I felt their presences entering my radar as they silently entered the clearing.

‘Eleven, twelve, thirteen… The fuck, you bitches. You wanna gang up on me like cowards?’

They had perfectly surrounded me. It seemed even the demon beasts had singled me out as the most dangerous foe.

Schwing.

I lowered my sword, extinguishing the Aura Blade as well. Then, I reveled in the demon beasts’ bloodthirst gleaming in the darkness.

‘Quite nerve wracking.’

The bloodthirst of the demon beasts was so strong that anyone else would have peed their pants and crumpled onto the ground like a possum playing dead. Ogres and trolls couldn’t hold a candle to it.

‘Looks like they’ve all joined the party.’

From their presences, I could tell their numbers had already exceeded twenty. It seemed the taveliger I caught before would merely be an underling for the demon beasts here.

THUD!

I lightly struck the ground.

THUD! THUD! THUD! THUD!

Once, twice, again and again, I hit the ground. I wanted to see the dirty mugs of the demon beasts surrounding me.

GRAWR!

Hisssssss.

A few beasts reacted with annoyance to my provocation.

And then, they appeared from within the darkness.

‘Wow! That guy has TWELVE legs! Hooh, getting hit by that one would probably spell instant death.’

One by one, the demon beasts showed themselves. One of them had black, pointy knife-like claws and protrusions on its shaggy hide. Its crimson eyes took up half of its face, and its entire body was a mass of muscle lacking a single shred of fat. Another one was covered in thick layers of protective scaly hide, and its fists were (with a little exaggeration) as big as the wheel of a frickin’ car.

‘A winged wolf… I guess it’s the truth that demon beasts are all descendants from the demon world.’

There was no way demon beasts could come from monsters. The beasts were so varied that the world had not yet recorded every type out there. Even now, the demon beasts appearing before me hadn’t been mentioned anywhere.

‘The ones that were roaming around the plains and croaked were far lower in level.’

Just like how the hero arrives late in a movie, the demon beasts here far outstripped the ones we had caught during the Nerman monster subjugation.

“Heyo, friends. I’m the Lord of Nerman, Kyre. Nice ta meetcha.”

Waving my left hand, I gave the demon beasts a warm welcome, if you could call it that.

GRRR!

Hiiiisssss.

The demon beasts bared their fangs and hissed with forked snake-like tongues. Five of them appeared in the clearing in no time.

“Not sure if you guys have heard this. A club is the only cure for a rabid dog. Ptui!”

I spat in front of the demon beasts. It was not an action befitting the lord of Nerman, but I had absolutely no desire to put on hero airs in front of these bastards who only knew blood.

Ziiiiiing.

I poured mana into my sword, watching it blaze blue with Aura Blade.

“Don’t cry after getting beaten by this brother of yours, you fuckin’ deadmeats.”

I brought my sword up in front of me.

GRAWR!

At the same time, the dog with wings rushed towards me with a roar.

‘!! It’s frickin’ fast!’

As if casting Blink magic, it seemed to leap up 10 meters, and before I knew it, the nice little dog was baring finger-sized fangs to rip my neck into pieces.

“Hup!”

I lightly jumped back, thrusting my sword towards its swiftly-approaching snout.

Swish.

However, it easily turned its body and changed its position in midair. It swept past me, and my sword missed.

Hissssssss.

‘Well aren’t you all friendly little bastards!’

Before I could land, the shaggy demon beast with huge eyes that looked like a distant relative of the orc came running in, swinging its bladed hands. I rapidly turned my blade, blocking its blow.

CLAAANG!

‘My god!’

My invincible Aura Blade that could easily cut through most things let off mana sparks as it clashed with the beast’s arm, proof that this nice demon beast’s arm was as hard as mithril alloy. Cold sweat dripped down my back.

‘Am I gonna actually die at this rate?’

It was gruesome to think about. I couldn’t die like this and become a hungry ghost when I hadn’t had a proper taste of the primal human deed and was still an unripe virgin.

Swoooosh.

But they just kept coming.

These demon beasts coordinated like cowards, hurtling arms, clubs, and claws at me from all directions.

‘Hoh shit!!!’

I was so busy, I couldn’t even curse aloud.

Swiiiisshh.

I hastily whirled my sword like the wind, blocking everything flying towards me.

CLAAAANG.

Mana sparks flew again and again. My mana, which was already hitting the bottom of the barrel, quickly drained like a melting popsicle.

Pooow.

Surprisingly, one of the demon beasts managed to get through my defenses, its claws grazing past my airplate.

‘T-THESE BITCHES! You know how expensive this is?!’

A single touch dented the airplate, though it was capable of blocking most of a Blessed Spear’s impact. A moment of inattention had caused an enormous financial loss.

Sizzzzzzle.

I could feel steam rising from my head.

‘You bastards, count yourselves dead!’

My fighting aura surged along with my rage, feeding my Aura Blade.

Fwooooosh.

A triple-layered Aura Blade that only a Master could produce blazed up like a lightsaber.

“DIE!!!!!!”

And then, I ran like a madman.

Towards the demon beast covered in crocodile skin, the one that dented my armor.